Cameron Park Elementary School in Hillsborough held an Early Earth Day Celebration on April 11 with visits from two special guests: NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and UNC's Nobel Prize-winning scientist Oliver Smithies.

Williams went to the International Space Station aboard the shuttle Discovery in December 2006 and remained in space for 195 days, setting the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman. While she was in the space station, another astronaut cut her long ponytail and sent the hair back to Earth to be donated to Locks of Love, which makes wigs for cancer patients. She also ran the Boston Marathon in space last year to draw attention to fitness for kids.

Students also learned Williams worked seven-hour days wearing a 300-pound space suit, ate dehydrated food and exercised frequently to help prevent bone loss due to the lack of gravity. She told the students about the special respect and appreciation for the earth that she gained from her perspective in space.

Smithies, who won the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine, engaged Cameron Park students in a discussion about the excitement of discovery. Using a basketball, he showed how daylight moves around the earth as it rotates. He also showed students a helix and mentioned his laboratory experiments in genetics.

Smithies' work has been recognized as revolutionizing research into the genetic basis of disease.

Students also enjoyed outdoor games and lots of learning about conservation, recycling and environmental protection.

Outdoor learning exhibits were presented by the North Carolina Fossil Club, SEEDS, North Carolina Fisheries, Orange County Soil and Water Conservation, Orange County Erosion Control, Orange County Solid Waste and Recycling, Bountiful Backyards, and Occaneechi leader John Blackfeather Jeffries.